“Will you be alright, Your Highness?” The first to voice his concern was Count Palatine Robert. “Why would I not be?” Ezekiel replied lightly, changing his clothes in his chambers. “It is not as if my brother intends to harm me.” Count Palatine Robert sighed heavily. “If Prince Etienne were that transparent, I would not worry. I would have forbidden it at once.” Robert was a trusted aide the Emperor had assigned to Ezekiel, tasked with staying by his side until he chose a temple. Though only in his thirties, his hair was already streaked with gray, a testament to the rigors of palace life. Appointed Count Palatine at a young age, he had spent over a decade navigating the